Tag: cult cinema

You gotta make way for the Homo Superior: Mutation, Evolution, and Super Powers on Screen

Recently I went to a fascinating research seminar on the history of the theory of mass extinction and the human fears of and impact on extinction given by historian of biology, Dr David Sepkoski (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin) at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (University of Manchester). It got me… Read more →

Un-Natural Selection: Evolutionary Concepts in Horror Cinema

This post originally appeared on the Science & Religion: Exploring the Spectrum blog. Evolution doesn’t seem scary. It is the processes of change in heritable traits of biological entities over successive generations, which give rise to biological diversity between and within organisms. This isn’t something likely to make you cower behind your popcorn box at the multiplex. However, the horror… Read more →

Welcome back to humanity. Now you get to die: Vampires and… Science

Do vampire narratives become science fiction when vampirism is created or/and ‘cured’ by science? Whether benevolent, malicious, or uncontrolled, science is rivalling if not, in some cases, entirely replacing the supernatural as the most prevalent component of recent vampire narratives. Where once there was a vampire slayer and her pointy stick there are now scientists armed with vaccines and syringes. Read more →

Mad Evolutionists and Missing Links: Evolution in Cinema

Evolutionary biology has been a consistent theme in movies going back to the earliest days of cinema. Filmmakers come back to evolutionary themes because evolution is about transformation and transformation always makes for good drama and for good cinematic visuals. As it turns out, this summer has been a banner year for evolution at the movies as a large number… Read more →